Taking a moment out from Jackie O Motherfucker, Nick Bindeman’s schizophrenic assault on psychedelic pop has resulted in a filthy and ecstatic collection of songs that makes his usual band sound meek and girly by comparison. Throughout this limited edition cassette, Bindeman tries to merge as many different streams of rock and pop music together into one glorious, drugged mess.
In Between Dreams opens with “Set Me on Fire” which is as much indebted to The Mamas and the Papas as it is to Sonic Youth. Discordant guitars grind and pulse as Bindeman’s fog-drenched vocals echo through the noisy melodies. On “Venus in the Ape House,” Bindeman perverts the rhythm and mood from Die Haut’s “Stowaway” before it collapses in on itself like the more electric parts of The Velvet Underground’s White Light/White Heat. At this point, it sounds like Bindeman is all homage and has no tricks of his own but his work as Tunnels is as much about experimenting with his own playing as it is about using tried and tested techniques on the guitar.
The shorter side B sees Bindeman extend the range of his music further. Unusual percussion and the sound of celestial strings spar with a big, meaty fuzz guitar line on “Web.” It is here that he sounds at his most free, trying out ways of upsetting any notion of songcraft but without letting the music turn into a dirge or generic free improv. He launches himself out even further with “Hetty Witch,” forgoing the guitar altogether to make an eerie and ghostly abstract soundscape.
Overall, In Between Dreams is an exhilarating release that blends familiar rock ancestry into an unfamiliar context, making those tired old moves sound fresh again. Considering it is a cheap release due to the format, it is well worth hunting down (provided you still have a tape deck of course).
This album is currently on cassette only so unfortunately no sound samples at this point in time, apologies!
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